FIM Metal Fabrication

FIM Metal Fabrication is a job shop in Seminole, Texas, covering industrial metal fabrication, crane manufacturing, metal building systems, finishing and fleet maintenance. The company describes its growth from a small machine shop into a combined 146,700 square feet of work space, serving commercial, agricultural, petroleum and industrial customers in Texas and beyond. Work is handled in house across 3D-CAD design, CNC cutting and bending, precision welding, painting and powder coating.

The shop is staffed by engineers, designers and operators, and the company states that its technicians are certified and experienced. Because fabrication and finishing are completed under one roof, the company says it controls both delivery time and cost.

Steel and structural fabrication

Structural steel is processed to customer specifications using CNC equipment and in-house design tools. The same fabrication division supports the crane, building systems and fleet upfitting work, so components move between shops without going outside.

Cranes and hoists

FIM Cranes engineers, constructs and installs overhead, jib, gantry, workstation and monorail cranes to customer specifications, fabricating new cranes and runways at the Seminole plant. Installation crews have set cranes in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado and other locations across the United States.

Crane and hoist technicians are trained in OSHA, ASME, ANSI and CMAA industry standards, and field service trucks are stocked for on-site repairs. Periodic and frequent inspections are offered alongside preventative maintenance programs, with findings issued as a written inspection report that references the standards behind each checklist item.

Building systems and components

FIM Building Systems supplies contractors and customers with full component packages for bolt-up or weld-up metal buildings. A separate components operation stocks a full menu of metal building components for building contractors.

Finishing services

Sandblasting, industrial painting and powder coating are run in house as part of the fabrication process, and are also taken on as standalone work.

Powder booths and ovens accommodate parts up to 12 feet by 50 feet, and the paint shop runs three industrial booths, the largest measuring 16 feet by 100 feet. Coatings run from primer and enamels through single-stage, three-stage and base coat/clear coat applications. The company stocks powder from several manufacturers:

• Tiger Coatings
• Sherwin Williams
• IFS Coatings
• Prismatic Powders

Fleet maintenance

The fleet shop handles scheduled maintenance and inspections as well as heavier repair work:

• Diagnostics
• Engine, transmission, differential and axle repair or replacement
• Wheel alignment and seal repair
• Brake pad, drum and rotor replacement
• Shock and spring replacement
• Washing and detailing

A mobile mechanic is on call around the clock for roadside breakdowns, jobsite repairs and harvest equipment. Working with the in-house fabrication division, the shop also produces complete day cab conversions with repainting, installs load-bearing pusher axles, repairs and modifies body parts, and extends or shortens truck frames for bed replacements.

Maintenance records can be integrated with fleet management software providers, including Holman, Element, Enterprise and Wheels.